Preparing to Compete

As a competition pool player (amateur, not pro), there are a few things I do to mentally prepare for the games ahead. What I will be doing this morning and throughout the weekend as I head into a pool tournament.

1. Goal setting and thought management – mindset and mindfulness. I’ve been practicing both in my morning meditation and prayer. The intention is to focus on what needs to be done now to achieve the goal set. To win each match I must play each ball well.

2. Refocusing strategies – decide beforehand how I will get my focus back when distracted. Distractions are everywhere. I am practicing a set routine to get my focus back and it looks like this: Deep breath, look at table and shot before me, deep breath, reset handling of pool cue, deep breath, approach the shot with the same form as every other shot I approach.

3. At the pool hall – I will get familiar with the people there, the food servers, potential distractions and essentially “make friends” with them. I will become mindful and aware of what is happening at the moment and have it become part of the winning recipe. I play my best when I am relaxed, so between matches I will be deep breathing, roll my shoulders, joke a bit with my teammates.

This isn’t the end-all/be-all as there is a lot of training involved that results in being able to “trust my ability”, but what I find to be most common among new and growing business owners is the lack of mental preparation. It’s the lack of habit, routine, process that stops so many of us.

When I apply the above to business: my morning routine to review the day ahead and decide what to focus my attention on, to 1:1 sales meeting, 1:1 networking meeting, Speaking from the Stage, Webinar Presentations, Training Session, Mastermind Group Meetings…I do well and my business grows.